Saturday, October 13, 2012

Living Third In Line

We have a guest minister coming to our church this upcoming week, so I've been listening to a lot of his stuff in anticipation of his visit.  Rev. Tim Storey will be at Living Word in La Crosse, WI on Sunday morning (October 21) at 8:15 and 10:30, as well as a special Sunday night service at 6:30.  As soon as I heard my Pastor invite Rev. Storey to La Crosse, back in June, I put in a plug to try and have him minister at a special youth service on Saturday night.  Well, ask and you shall receive!  Travel arrangements and schedules worked out so that Rev. Storey will be with us for "Saturday Night Alive" on Saturday, October 20 beginning at 7:00.

If you've never heard Rev. Storey, you're in for a treat.  He is a solid minister and operates in the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a very real, very peculiar way.  Spooky, right?  Not at all.  He has committed his life and ministry to following the example set by Jesus Christ.  He calls it "The Jesus Style."  And it's a blessing to be a part of his services and watch God move through him.

So, I've been listening to Rev. Storey to help set my expectation for these upcoming services.  One of the many things I've picked up is the importance of priorities and motives.  I can't be the minister I'm supposed to be if my priorities and motives are out of whack.  We as the Body of Christ cannot fulfill our God-given destiny if we are not straight this simple truth:

God must be first.  Others must be second.  I can be third.

The world we live in has this flip-flopped...if God and others even come into the equation at all.  And so much of our culture is driven to take our focus and attention off of God and the work He has for us to do, and put it on to ourselves.  We are trained to be selfish, consuming as much for our own gain as we can get.  Our own selves become our god.  We lose sight of God and the fact that He must be #1.  He must be our reason for living, our motiviation, our enthusiasm, our life itself.  I have to get this priority set first.

But too often the message then becomes, "Well now that I'm submitted to God, let's get that grace, blessing, and prosperity business started!"  But when I start thinking about what Rev. Storey teaches so much about, The Jesus Style, and what I see in my Bible I have to check myself.  Did Jesus follow that example of greed, me first, and selfishness?  Not even close.  He solidified His priorities in Matthew 22.  Jesus confirmed that the first commandment, the most important, was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  Then He immediately followed it up with the second most important commandment:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Other people must be on our minds.  Compassion for people compelled Jesus to help them when they hated Him.  Instead of getting annoyed at their repeated mistakes, disobedience, and wrong living, He pushed on to bless them and help them.  And it wasn't strictly out of blind obedience to God.  The Bible says we are to be willing AND obedient.  Jesus had his priorities in order.  He was submitted to God above all, and because of that relationship He got ahold of God's love for people.

Jesus was at a wedding, enjoying time with family and friends.  People needed help.  He put his own comfort and desires on hold to help them.
Jesus was tired.  Yet He waited to sleep until after His ministry to the multiltudes was complete.  And even then He wakes up from a nap in order to help the disciples in the midst of a storm.
And ultimately, in the face of physical torture and death, He put you and I ahead of Himself so we could be saved.

My comfort, my wants, my life has to be about God first and loving people second.  If I try to do it out of order, thinking I know a better way, I'll constantly find myself unsatisfied and wanting.  It's so contrary to everything the world follows.  But if I do it the right way, then I ensure that God is glorified, people are blessed, and my stuff gets taken care of too.  Amazing. 

Life is too short to spend it worthlessly trying to hoard everything for myself.  Let's get out there and be the Body of Christ in our world.  Let's change the atmosphere around us.  Let's do God's work on the earth so that He can be glorified and people's lives can be changed. 

I'm going to be alive, alert, and unashamed!

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